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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010605/pl/vieques_arrests_2.html
Tuesday June 5 9:03 PM ET
Rep. Accuses Navy on Vieques
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A congressman accused the Navy on Tuesday of
``dehumanizing, degrading and punitive treatment'' of protesters arrested
for trying to close down a Navy and Marine Corps bombing range on a Puerto
Rican island.
The criticism by Rep. Robert Menendez (news - bio - voting record) came
during a five-hour hearing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus into the
events of April 27-May 1 on Vieques, just off Puerto Rico's main island,
during demonstrations against bombing exercises on the Navy's range.
Among about a dozen witnesses testifying of alleged mistreatment by naval
personnel were a Menendez colleague in Congress, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (news
- bio - voting record), D-Ill.; local Puerto Rican politicians and
religious leaders; and actor Edward James Olmos. They were among 180
people arrested during the protests.
The pictures they drew of the events included students vomiting from
pepper spray, women being subjected to repeated body searches and
protesting being given little food and water for long periods. They spoke
of physical abuse of detainees, obscene gestures toward young women and
racial insults.
``Never in my life have I felt so denigrated as a woman and as a human
being,'' said Jazmin Mejias, a member of the Puerto Rico Senate. ``I could
not understand or comprehend what was happening.''
``We do not question that acts of civil disobedience have consequences. We
do not question that arrests would be a reasonable consequence of
trespassing on a U.S. military base,'' said Menendez, D-N.J., who chaired
the hearing.
``What we do question are the allegations about the dehumanizing,
degrading and punitive treatment received by those arrested at the hands
of the United States Navy.''
Most of the 18 members of the all-Democrat caucus oppose the Navy's use of
the Vieques bombing range as a threat to the health and livelihood of
island residents. The hearing was to draw attention to the allegations of
Navy misconduct in arresting the demonstrators.
``These actions have absolutely no place in a democratic society,'' Rep.
Nydia Velazquez (news - bio - voting record), D-N.Y., said.
Acting Navy general counsel William Molzahn refused to comment on the
arrests, saying it could compromise criminal proceedings. The U.S.
District Court for Puerto Rico has not yet tried all those arrested on
trespassing charges.
Molzahn said he had no knowledge of the events on Vieques, whether the
Navy intends to investigate the allegations or the Navy's procedures for
detentions and arrests.
At the time, a Navy spokesman in Puerto Rico said the accounts by
Gutierrez and others were ``absolutely false'' and that all the protesters
were treated with dignity and respect. They said Gutierrez provoked
altercations by being ``rude, obnoxious'' and by threatening the careers
of naval officers.
The Navy has used its range on the tiny island for six decades and says
the training it affords is vital for national security.
- - -
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/impacto/orl-vieques060601.story?col
l=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines
Congress hears of abuses on Vieques
Tamara Lytle
Washington Bureau
The Orlando Sentinel
Posted June 6, 2001
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy physically abused and humiliated protesters
trying to stop bombing practice on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques,
according to a congressman, a priest, a famous actor and local politicians.
They brought their personal stories Tuesday to the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus hearing on the Navy's treatment of protesters arrested April 28.
Outraged lawmakers vowed to retaliate against the Navy.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said he was kept handcuffed for more than 20
hours straight -- even when he needed to go to the bathroom and even while
on a boat being transported back to the main island of Puerto Rico.
The 130-pound congressman also said he was kicked and that his face was
pushed to the ground as a military guard stepped on his neck.
A Puerto Rican state senator in her 40s talked about being searched four
times even though the protesters were accused only of trespassing, a
misdemeanor. One of the searches involved a female Navy official squeezing
her private parts in a "disgusting" way, Sen. Norma Burgos said.
Actor Edward James Olmos said he and many others were forced to kneel in a
gravel-strewn area where rocks punched painfully through his jeans.
And the Rev. Nelson Lopez, wearing his clerical garb, said he was
tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed and hit with rubber bullets. The Navy was
"abusive, disrespectful," he said.
Security job 'outstanding'
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Katherine Goode said there was "no basis" to charges the
Navy used excessive force. All protesters were treated with dignity, she
said.
"The security folks did an outstanding job in handling a very difficult
situation. There were a lot of people breaking the law that day," Goode
said in a telephone interview from the Navy's Roosevelt Roads base in
Puerto Rico.
Lopez and the others were among about 180 people detained for trespassing
on the Navy's bombing range in Vieques.
Ever since an errant bomb killed a civilian guard at the range in 1999,
local citizens and other activists have protested the Navy's presence on
the island.
The Navy has said the island is crucial to training its Atlantic fleet
because it can practice coordinated, air, amphibious and ship-to-shore
assaults.
Puerto Ricans have complained the bombing endangers their health and shuts
off economic development.
Angry Hispanic lawmakers accused the Navy on Tuesday of hiding from the
allegations of abuse.
Acting Navy General Counsel William Molzahn appeared at the hearing but
said he couldn't comment on the allegations of abuse because the criminal
cases are pending against the protesters.
Four New York politicians, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, already have
been sentenced. Their sentences of between 40 and 90 days in jail shocked
many observers.
Anibal Acevedo-Vila, Puerto Rico's non-voting representative in Congress,
said the harsh punishment represses free speech.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., and other Hispanic lawmakers had harsh words
for the Navy's treatment of the protesters.
"These actions were outrageous and have absolutely no place in our
society. The Navy chose to act like a world-class bully," Velazquez said.
Navy funding threatened
The protesters, including a long table full of local Puerto Rican leaders,
said they were held all night in a roofless building with little
protection from rain, bugs and iguanas. They said the cement-floor
building was a dog kennel reeking of urine.
Goode said the building was next to a dog kennel. A roof is being put on
now to prepare for the next round of protesters. The Navy plans to begin
bombing again in several weeks.
"We don't have the facilities out there, so we use make-shift buildings,"
she said. "They had to put them somewhere. You can't just leave them on
the ground. That's inhumane."
But the lawmakers showed video footage of some of the arrests and called
that inhumane.
Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said he would ask the congressional
committees that oversee spending and defense to hold hearings where the
Navy would have to testify under oath and be subject to subpoena. They
also threatened to cut off some Navy funding.
"We're going to use our political influence to put pressure on the
behavior of the Navy," Velazquez said. "We're going to hit them were it
hurts the most -- and that is money."
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